Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Sick

//sɪk// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    In poor health; ill.

    "We have to care for the sick."

  2. 2
    In poor health; ill.; [with with] Afflicted by (a specific condition, usually medical).

    "She was sick all day with the flu."

  3. 3
    Having an urge to vomit.

    "My daughter was violently sick three times in the night."

  4. 4
    Mentally unstable, disturbed. colloquial

    "You sick bastard!"

  5. 5
    In bad taste. colloquial

    "That’s a sick joke."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    [with of] Tired of or annoyed by (something that has lasted a long time or often recurs).

    "sick and tired of the whining—sick of waiting—'sick of politics"

  2. 7
    Very good, excellent, awesome, badass. slang

    "This tune is sick."

  3. 8
    In poor condition.

    "sick building syndrome; my car is looking pretty sick; my job prospects are pretty sick"

  4. 9
    Failing to sustain adequate harvests of crop, usually specified.
Adjective
  1. 1
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror wordnet
  2. 2
    deeply affected by a strong feeling wordnet
  3. 3
    having a strong distaste from surfeit wordnet
  4. 4
    affected with madness or insanity wordnet
  5. 5
    (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function wordnet
  2. 7
    feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from German.
Noun
  1. 1
    Vomit. Australia, British, colloquial, uncountable

    "[…] they're spitting and belching chunks of lentilly gunk. Looks like sick."

  2. 2
    people who are sick wordnet
  3. 3
    (especially in the phrases on the sick and on long-term sick) Any of various current or former benefits or allowances paid by the Government to support the sick, disabled or incapacitated. British, colloquial, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To vomit. Australia, British, colloquial

    "I woke up at 4 am and sicked on the floor."

  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of sic (“set upon”). alt-of, alternative, rare

    ""Wapi," she almost screamed, "go back! Sick 'em, Wapi—sick 'em—sick 'em—sick 'em!""

  3. 3
    eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth wordnet
  4. 4
    To fall sick; to sicken. intransitive

    "Our great-grandsire, Edward, sick'd and died."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “I am weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “I am weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.

Etymology 3

From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuk, from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “I am weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.

Etymology 4

Variant of sic, itself an alteration of seek.

Etymology 5

* As a Dutch and German surname, shortened from names like Siegfried, Siegmund and similar. Compare Sieck, Zeek. * As a Czech surname, Americanized from Šik; also Slovene, Carpathian Rusyn, and Serbo-Croatian Šic, converged from several origins such as síč (“sower”), the source of Schuetz, or Slavicized from Hungarian szűcs (“furrier”). Compare Shick.

See also for "sick"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: sick